


Ten Minutes in a Closet

by YvaJ



Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 03:02:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2008446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YvaJ/pseuds/YvaJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started on Lucy's 18th birthday...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In The Closet

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the most risky stories I have ever written. It is for that reason it has a mature audiences notation. Nothing too graphic, but helpless romantics would no doubt get goose bumps. It is in essence a coming of age love story.

  
**Ten Minutes in a Closet**  
By: YvaJ

**In The Closet**  


She couldn’t believe it!

It was her eighteenth birthday and here she was sitting blindfolded on the floor in a closet. The folds of her dress were surrounding her, as though she was a fairy in a flower blossom. The dark green colored gown she wore had been especially selected for this day. Everything had been fine until her siblings had come up with this ridiculous idea of playing juvenile party games.

Of course the subjects had agreed. They seemed more than enthusiastic to take part in such a charade. Even Tumnus seemed to think the idea held some sort of merit.

What was a girl to do?

Lucy had long since grown tired of playing these sorts of games, but she had also decided to play along and appease her eldest brother. Who could resist Peter when he made those Bambi eyes at her anyway? It was no wonder the High King had so many admirers of the female persuasion; he could persuade a leopard to change its spots if it served his purpose.

As she sat there, she began to contemplate the whole issue of love. She was not sure anymore if she was in love, or had ever been in love. Sure, she had feelings for someone, but these feelings were obviously not reciprocated. Eventually, she concluded that it would not be a good idea to speak of them to anyone. After all, the one she loved probably still saw her as this cute little girl with ribbons and bows in her hair, as opposed the woman that she had become.

From beneath the folds of her gown, she shivered slightly still feeling the annoyingly cold floor. She could see nothing, not even the color of the silk scarf covering her eyes. Internally, she wished that she could have been anywhere except where she was. The last thing she could remember seeing was her brother, Edmund. This was just before he had wound the scarf gently around her head and concealed her eyes.

As soon as she was ready, her sister led her to the small room. “Ten minutes,” Susan had instructed. “Keep the blindfold on no matter what happens. You know the rules.”

“Yes, I know,” she had reluctantly agreed. Within minutes, she could hear the sounds of the door being closed. She held her hands out before her until she found the back of the wall and sat down on the ground in order to wait.

She knew this room all too well, she had often played there as a small child. Hide and seek had always been her favorite game. She had even taught Tumnus to play the game, and remembered the first time the faun had been ‘it’. She always had the advantage over him because his hooves would tippety-tap against the marble floor, which provided ample warning that he was coming to find her. She would take advantage of this and would quickly find a new hiding place. That happened for the longest time, until Tumnus was pulled aside by the other three monarchs and special sock-like covers were designed to cover his hooves so that she would not hear him coming.

She giggled as she remembered the first time he had found her; the joy that had emanated him had been enchanting. She felt her heart skipping a beat as the memories and antics with her best friend literally flooded into her conscience.

She reached up and touched the blindfold that concealed her eyes, all the while not knowing what would happen next. Who would be coming into the closet?

In the back of her mind, she hoped that it would be Tumnus. It seemed rather silly, but the youngest queen had fallen in love with the faun and she feared what would happen if she were to confess her feelings. Surely, it would ruin the lasting friendship they had found. It was for this reason that she opted to keeping these feelings to herself.

She took a deep breath as she wrung her hands together. She knew was that her friendship with him had started to change and she wondered almost constantly if he had sensed it as well.

Instead of worrying about it, she silently waited until the door slowly opened.

From where she was sitting, she could hear the sound of the door creaking and the laughter from the party filtering into the room. She swallowed as the door was closed and the sounds from beyond it were muffled.

Whoever it was who had come into the room approached where she was sitting on the ground. She could suddenly feel the breeze as they crouched down before her, but no words were spoken. Lucy reached a hand out in the direction where the movement seemed to originate, but all she felt was the air between them. “W-who’s there?” She whispered nervously, but no answer emerged.

Whoever this was, he must have been sufficiently drilled on the rules of this particular game. Lucy quickly discovered that he would not be uttering a sound.

She sighed nervously as she suddenly felt a gloved hand taking hold of one of hers. The touch was feather-light and she felt herself unconsciously swallowing as the suitor’s soft hands squeezed her own.

Although this gave her momentary goose bumps, she could feel the disappointment washing over her as she realized that the suitor was probably not Tumnus since the faun had never worn gloves. Gloves were restrictive to him and the extent of his clothing was a scarf. Her favorite scarf was casual and red and somehow brought out the blue in his eyes. Those shining eyes made him all the more endearing to her.

She bit down on her lip, the tears now soaking the object covering her eyes and unconsciously, she released a pent up sigh. _It’s probably one of those pompous princes that Peter insisted on inviting to my party,_ she thought. She wished that she had had more to say about the guest list, but that was the drawback to being the youngest. _This is obviously one of those princes who considers himself to be God’s gift to women and can do no wrong,_ her cynical thoughts continued. She curled her lips defiantly, all the while knowing just how vulnerable she truly was.

The visitor inched closer, reached out, and touched her lips, thus causing her to cease frowning. He nodded as a slight smile covered his lips, but still no words emerged.

“Who are you?” she whispered, but received no answer from the mysterious individual who was sitting before her. She could feel a small sense of fear gripping her. Not knowing who was seated before her was doing a cruel number with her. She knew consciously that her siblings would never put her into a precarious situation, but this did not ease her tension. The prolonged silence was starting to make her feel more nervous and insecure. “Please do say something.”

“Shhh,” the word emerged, but it was more like an exhalation and through it, she could not detect who was with her. Instead of feeling calm, this made her feel even more anxious.

Wordlessly, the suitor began to gently stroke her face, his fingers touching and running through the silkiness of her hair. She raised her hand somewhat before grasping his hand and holding it against one side of her face.

 _What is he doing to me?_ She asked herself. _Why is he seducing me like this? I don’t even know who he is, but yet he is awakening in me feelings that I never thought I had._ She licked her lips nervously, but what happened next took her by complete surprise, he took her free hand in his and allowed her to touch his face, the skin along the contours of his face soft. Within seconds, she had touched his mouth and suddenly felt him kissing her fingertips as the spasms of excitement started to unconsciously curse through her.

“I don’t know who you are, but the power you hold over me is magnetic,” she whispered. From somewhere, she could suddenly hear soft chuckles emerging, but still no words were spoken.

“You think I’m being funny?” she asked weakly. “All of this frightens me.”

The suitor nodded. He knew that she was scared, and wanted to do whatever he could to show her in a non-verbal manner that she had nothing to fear. He leaned over to her and captured both sides of her face in his hands. This gentle touch did little to alleviate her nervousness and after several seconds had passed, she could suddenly feel his lips touching her cheek. The skin came alive upon feeling this sensation, and she unconsciously waited for his mouth to make its descent towards her waiting lips.

As his mouth started to move slowly towards her lips, she could suddenly feel excitement filling and blocking out the fear that she had experienced earlier. Seconds seemed to pass in slow motion and she suddenly could feel his mouth inching closer and closer to her own, a trail of dampness left along her cheek.

 _Who is this that leaves such longing inside of me?_ She asked as an almost deep sense of desire rose up in her. Without even so much as a warning, she could feel his lips abruptly covering her own. As he moved his lips eagerly against her own, she could suddenly feel the breath literally leaving her.

For his part, he lowered his hand and touched the collar of her dress, his fingers gently reaching beneath the folds of fabric. He could instinctively tell that she had never been kissed like this before. Her movements at first had been filled with hesitancy and insecurity, but after several moments with him they had changed. As he gently kissed her, he could almost sense a new boldness taking hold of the young queen. Her lips eventually parted and her arms wanted nothing more than to wind their way around him and allow the kiss to intensify. Seeing this, he broke the kiss and captured both of her hands firmly in his.

Once he held them, he leaned back over and captured her lips once more, this time the kiss filled with longing. As it deepened, both Lucy and the suitor allowed the moment to take them away.

 _Oh Lucy, if only you knew whom it was that was kissing you in this way,_ his thoughts ravaged his mind, but he released her hands and allowed them to wander over her face, all the while still keeping his lips pressed against hers. _I love you so much and I know that my life would be empty without you being a part of it._

Although he wanted to say these words verbally, his thoughts remained unspoken. He broke the kiss and managed to remove the gloves he wore and tossed them silently to the floor.

Lucy reached up at that moment and touched her lips, the moistness of them causing her breathing to emerge in gasps. She did not know what was happening to her, but she longed for him to kiss her again. They had both been wonderful kisses, and they had left her with a feeling unlike any other. Her thoughts and mind had been sent into oblivion all the while not knowing who it was that made her feel this way.

She licked her lips slowly as she felt another sensation near her temple. Seconds seemed to tick slowly by as the soft fingers loosened the knot to the scarf that had kept her eyes in darkness.

As he unwound the silk scarf from her head, he discarded this in very much the way he had discarded the gloves. He remained seated before her, his fingers expertly touching her face. After some moments, he inhaled slowly and waited for her to look at him.

As she finished rubbing her eyes, she raised her head and looked into his eyes. His face literally swam before hers and taking a deep breath, she waited for her eyes to readjust to the dim light.

“It’s you…” her voice trailed off, and he could tell that she was not disappointed in the slightest. Instead, she abruptly threw herself into his arms. “…I so hoped that it would be you.”

He smiled brightly, but instead of speaking, he took both sides of her face and tipped it up until she was staring into a pair of blue eyes filled with more love than she had ever seen anywhere. His head lowered once more and he covered her lips with his own, the kiss better than the other two. This time, the kiss deepened as the passion took them away to a place that belonged only to them.

It no longer mattered to Lucy that they were playing a game or sitting in a closet. She did not care if her siblings had come up with this idea as a surprise for her birthday. All that truly mattered to her was that he was kissing her.

Tears caught in her eyes as the kiss once more ended. “Tumnus,” she whispered, her simple word emerging breathless, and she reached for his hands. He offered them and held them in the exact same way they had done all those years ago when they were standing at the lamppost. She looked up at him, this time her eyes glistening with tears. “This is real; it isn’t some silly game, is it?”

He shook his head solemnly. “No, it is not a game. My feelings for you are not something that I would toy with. Your brothers and sister spoke with me about this before the party and they suggested that this would be a good way for me to convey my feelings to you.”

She bit down on her lip as he reached over and touched one side of her face. “You really do care for me?” she whispered and once he nodded, she continued. “I thought that I was just a child to you.”

He shook his head, but could still feel the tears streaming down his cheeks. He blinked and could see that she too was overcome with emotion. He reached over and stroked her face, his fingers smearing the tears away and he spoke.

“By the Lion, I love you, Lucy Pevensie.”


	2. Several Months Later...

**Several Months Later…**

‘I wanted to give you something...’ Lucy was sitting at her desk and had started to write. Abruptly, she stopped and wadded up the paper. She tossed it towards the wastebasket but missed, the wad falling about two inches to the left of it. She sighed not really caring because the trashcan was already overflowing.

 _What does one give to a faun for his two hundred and fiftieth birthday anyway?_ She asked herself. She knew that Tumnus was to celebrate his birthday on that day; it was underlined in her appointment book. For the past twelve years she had gone to celebrate with him. Note, day, at night the faun seemed to always have something else planned, and that something obviously did not include her.

She had always longed to go with him, but never gunned up the courage to ask him why it was she was not invited along. She had never asked him about this before, but now that she was grown, she wanted to know why, especially if she was considered his best friend. After several years had come and gone, she had grown accustomed to it, but now she was starting to wonder what it was he did on the night of his birthday.

She sighed as she lowered her head, a soft moan emerging as she stared down at the pieces of blank paper. She had started out using her best stationary for this little project, but now that was all gone. All that was left was a small stack of plain white paper and she knew that this would have to suffice.

She touched her lips as she remembered her last birthday. She had turned eighteen and what started out, as a silly game had turned into something very special. Lucy never said as much, but this had been the most special day of her life. Why that was the case was that the man, well almost, the faun of her dreams had confessed his love to her in a very creative and special way.

She lowered her head as she stared in the direction of the garbage can where a small mountain of paper rested inside as well as all around it.  
 _I give up, I can’t write poetry,_ she thought with obvious frustration. _I probably haven’t a creative bone in my body. How can I even top what Tumnus did for me? I asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he said: ‘Nothing, having you is enough’._

He was so romantic and always had the best ideas. Now, it was her turn to come up with something special and she had drawn a complete blank. No one really knew how romantic a faun could be, but Tumnus was even better than Shakespeare in that regard. He had a way of showing the most beautiful and magical side of himself to her. Yet, through it all, there was nothing that she could imagine doing that would top what he had already done. He had no problems like she did, he had been given an overwhelming amount of creativity whereas she was about as creative as a bag of rocks.

Yet, through it all, she could not help but remember the night of the party, it had been so beautiful. She could barely remember what happened after he had said with all the ceremony in the world: ‘I love you, Lucy Pevensie’. It made her feel beautiful, as though she could reach out and touch the stars. She remembered how she had reacted to these words, her body lunging towards his and her mouth literally crushing his in a kiss that would have left anyone breathless. For Lucy, the party had been everything she could have possibly dreamed it to be.

As she sat, she lowered the quill that she had been using. She rested her chin in her hands and allowed her daydreams to take her away from this place and into another world.

She could not forget how lovingly he had held her, his lips caressing hers, the love she carried for him the only reality that could have possibly existed. She could not even remember what had happened once they had emerged from the closet. Her siblings had known of the faun’s feelings but not of Lucy’s. They had run up to them and the questions of ‘what happened’ and ‘did you kiss’, emerging from Peter and Susan respectively.

Surely they would have known the answers had they seen how Lucy’s hand was holding tightly to Tumnus’. Not only that, but the faun looked as though he had just been knighted by Aslan himself.

Lucy remembered how the music had once more started to play and everyone began to dance, her own body feeling as though it wanted nothing more than to spin around and around. She remembered having taken his hands and kissing them lovingly. She smiled as she recalled what had happened after the party. The two of them snuck out of the ballroom and hid themselves among the shadows amidst the corridors of Cair Paravel. Tumnus had found the courage to wind his arms around her, his tentative nature taking the backseat to his own urges.

Even with that being the case, they hadn’t done anything besides kissing, because several minutes after having found their hiding place, the party had started to break up. Peter and Susan had showed up and urged her to play hostess. Their special private moment had been shattered.

Lucy giggled nervously as she remembered the night. Deep inside, however, she wondered almost incessantly what would have happened had they been left alone for at least five more minutes.

Lucy Pevensie was in love. In fact, she always seemed to feel as light as a feather whenever she was with him. It was as though he had the power to sweep her away from any moment, to a place where bliss and joy were one and the same. The nicest part of that was the knowing that their physical differences could be completely ignored.

This was a feeling that she longed for, that oneness with him that was not just a physical desire. It was a spiritual connection that would literally wind around them and carry them off to another world within Narnia. That never happened though, at least not since her party had ended. Their affection had been limited to kissing with slight strokes on the hair and faces in hair. In the recesses of her heart, she longed to be just a bit more than just chaste and obedient with him. All of this pristine perfection made her feel rather like a little girl who was dating the perfect boy. She was a woman with the drive and the desire to be more to him than just the sweet, shy, and well-mannered queen of Narnia.

Of course, she did realize that on more than one occasion, the shy and reserved faun had shown a more frisky side. They had had moments when his shy and timid persona would be hidden away, but that seemed to only last a few seconds.

Internally she longed for the moments when he would pull her away from the crowds and into the shadows. She could feel her skin prickling with excitement, as he would begin to nibble on her ears or kiss her neck. This incessant nibbling would continue until she would turn her head and kiss his waiting mouth, but that was always the extent of their displays of affection.

Yes, there was no denying that their kisses were always passionate, but they were also well mannered, sometimes too well mannered. Often Lucy wondered what would have happened if she had planted a kiss full of desire and passion on his mouth in the middle of the court. Everyone would no doubt be shocked, and even her eldest brother would shake his head and wag his finger at her.

‘Ten minutes in the closet’ was what they had called the game, and now, it was Lucy’s turn to give Tumnus something back, but what? What could she possibly give to share with him the love she carried in her heart? She tried poetry, but that didn’t work, the remains of those futile attempts overflowing the wicker garbage basket next to her writing table.

She had even tried knitting a scarf for him. It was a blue one to match his wonderful and mesmerizing eyes, but that had proven an absolute disaster as well. Although the project had been brought to completion, the rows of yarn had been uneven and frayed. It looked as though Oreius had trampled it. This clearly showed that her knitting skills matched her poetry writing skills.

The shame filled her heart as she stared at the scarf that was now peeking out from under her pillow. She had put it there thinking it to be the last place anyone would think of looking for it, and so far that had proven successful. She would feel so humiliated if Tumnus were to see it. It was his special day and she had nothing to give him. He would think me a failure for certain, the eighteen-year-old queen thought sadly to herself. Seconds later, she raised her head when she heard someone lightly tapping on her door.

She got to her feet and made her way quietly to the door. She had no idea who would be paying her a visit at this hour. It was still before lunch and she was not scheduled to meet Tumnus until two. Her siblings were also away from the castle; her brothers were out on a hunt, and her sister entertaining yet another suitor. 

She opened the door and smiled when she saw that it was indeed Tumnus. “Hello, Lucy?” He whispered with a small smile, the same one reserved only for her.

“Hi,” she whispered shyly. “You’re early.”

He glanced around her and into the room. “So this is where you are hiding,” he said with a small smile. He watched as she backed slowly away and he came into her room. “Is something the matter, dearest Lucy?” He asked when he saw the sadness still lurking in her eyes.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, the lie rolling off her tongue as though practiced. She looked at him for a second but then lowered her head. Somewhere in the recesses of her spirit, she had this strange feeling that he knew that she was not speaking the truth.

Leaving the door ajar, she went over and sat down on the edge of the bed, her elbows resting on her knees, and her head hanging down. From this position, she could feel her hair limply covering both sides of her face.

“No you’re not,” he said softly as he came over and seated himself next to her. “Lucy, please tell me, what ever is the matter?” This time, he did not make any advances or overtures to her; instead he simply reached for her hand. Once he held it, he squeezed it gently.

“Your birthday is today, Tumnus,” she whispered, her head still lowered.

“Oh goodness gracious, yes it is,” he feigned astonishment, but offered her a slow nod. “I’m getting older. But why are you so dreadfully sad about something as normal as this? Birthdays are a natural part of life. Need I remind you that you recently had yours?”

“Yes, I know, and that’s just it,” she said as she felt the tears brimming from beneath her eyes and she shook her head as she allowed them to stream down over her face. She brushed her long hair aside and shook her head sadly.

“You may think me simple, my love, but I don’t understand. Why do you cry?” he asked as he pulled a handkerchief from beneath his scarf. Using it, he began to gently wipe her cheeks.

“I wanted to give you something special for your birthday, just as you gave me something special for mine,” she confessed softly. “I want to share with you how much I love you, but I don’t know how to do that.”

“Of course you do,” he said gently as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his embrace. Not a romantic embrace, but rather, an embrace that they had shared for so many years as best friends. “Lucy, don’t you see, dearest, you have? What you said just now is the most valuable and precious gift that you could ever give to me.” With his hand, he began to brush her brown hair out from in front of her eyes. “Good heavens, you mustn’t do anything for me for my anniversary, just be there and celebrate it with me.”

“I want to, though,” she sniffed. “I just keep remembering how special you made me feel on my birthday, and I want to make you feel that way too.” She looked over to where the scarf she had painstakingly knitted was hidden. Slowly, she inched over to the pillow, reached beneath it, and removed the scarf. It truly was a disastrous piece, but Tumnus seemed not to notice the faults with it. Instead, he reached for it and looked down at it.

“Did you make this?” He asked all the while knowing what the answer was going to be. He could tell from looking at her unhappy face that the answer would be one he would have to coax out of her.

Seconds passed and she raised her head and looked at him. “I wanted to make you something special, something that you would remember as being from me, but I failed.” She stared down at the object now resting in her hands.

“You did not fail, Lucy. It’s beautiful and I mean that with absolute sincerity,” he said sincerely. When she did not respond, he continued to speak, his voice soft, but with firmness she had never heard him use before. “I want you to look at me, and hear what I must tell you.”

He waited for several moments until she had gunned up the courage to raise her head and look at him. “The day your brothers and sister allowed me to use the closet as a means to confess my feelings to you, that became a wonderful gift to me. You see, I am truly a very selfish faun, perhaps more selfish than you presently realize. The events that took place during your birthday were not so much about what I did for you as you did for me.” His blue eyes shone as he spoke.

“I don’t understand,” she said softly.

“It really is quite easy,” he smiled at her. “I didn’t want you to see that it was me before you. I feared that if you knew that it was me, that you would not consent or worse yet, you would laugh or view me as some sorry pitiable creature who was not worthy of one such as you.”

“But I couldn’t, not ever,” she whispered as she reached over and touched his face. “I love you.”

“I know that now, but I did not realize it then,” he said smiling, still somewhat embarrassed. “I was dreadfully frightened, Lucy. I am a faun deeply in love with you, and you are a daughter of Eve. That could not have happened, at least so I had been told, but it did. Before I went into the closet, I put those strange socks over my hooves and gloves on my hands so that you would not know that it was me. I wanted to share my heart with you in such a way that could only be attained through the silence of that moment. My intentions were to give you a part of me and your acceptance of that was the most treasured gift I could have received. When you saw me and threw yourself into my arms, I knew that I had received the most priceless treasure in all of Narnia, and it was not my birthday, but rather yours.”

“You see, that’s so beautiful, it’s like poetry, and I even tried to write you a poem and it was terrible,” she pointed to the wastebasket where all her attempts had been discarded. “Everything I tried to make for you; the scarf and the poetry were awful and humiliating.”

“No, dearest, these things are a part of you,” he touched the scarf. “The fact that you wanted to make me something with your own two hands is special, probably more special than anything I could have done.”

“But what you did was special and beautiful,” she objected.

“Perhaps, but I do remember how you were frightened at first,” he continued speaking as he pulled her against him, her head coming to rest against his chest. “I knew that it would have broken my heart to know that I caused you to be afraid, but soon I knew that you weren’t afraid. Through that experience, I was able to wordlessly convey my feelings to you. Perhaps you might try something like that?”

“Me?” she whispered.

“Yes, you,” he said gently. “That night taught me that true love holds no bounds except for those that we may try to affix to it. If we are not careful, even that could be filled with misconceptions and false pride.”

Lucy rested her head on his shoulder. “When I felt your hands in those gloves, I was so afraid that it wouldn’t be you. I could feel the tears in my eyes, because I wanted it to be you so badly that my heart ached. Then you touched me, and there was gentleness in your manner that my heart must have immediately recognized. After that, you kissed me for the first time, and I felt an unending sense of excitement straight to the pit of my stomach. It felt as though I had been swept away to another time or place and that you were all that mattered. It was as though that precise moment had been made especially for us. But, Tumnus, that’s the problem, I want to do something special for you, but I don’t know what, and I fear that I don’t have a gift for you.”

“You’ve already given it, Lucy,” he said gently, his fingers now stroking her face gently. “You have already given me the scarf, but if you wish to do more, then perhaps tonight you attend my birthday dance with me.”

“Your dance?” she asked softly. “You want me to come? But, you have never asked me to come before, why are you asking me now?”

“Before you came of age I could not very well have asked you. Please understand that there are things that happened at those dances that were not appropriate for a child. I suppose in hindsight, not asking you then was my trying to protect you from things that you were not ready for. Now you are no longer a child, it does not serve me to protect you from what could happen. Lucy, you are a beautiful young woman and it would make me the happiest in all of Narnia to have you by my side tonight.”

Lucy’s eyes filled with tears, but she wound her arms around his neck and found herself holding onto him. With her face still buried against his chest, she nodded. “I want to be with you, heart and soul.”

The faun nodded and smiled. “That would honor me.”


	3. That Night

**That Night**

Lucy and Tumnus arrived and the dance was in full swing. It looked to be a really wild party, one that Lucy had never seen the likes of before. None of the fauns or nymphs came over to congratulate Tumnus on his anniversary, they pretty much kept to themselves and he seemed to be happier that way.

Lucy ran her hand down over her clothing. For the celebration, she had chosen to dress in a simple off white colored gown with a thin waist and a burgundy colored belt that was tied loosely around it. A wreath of soft pink and dark red colored flowers adorned her head instead of the silver jeweled crown that she normally wore.

She had insisted on attending using an assumed name and not as her title. She wanted to experience the dance just like the other attendees did. The crown seemed to remind her of what she was, and that would ultimately set her apart from the rest of the Narnians gathered. She wanted to be one of them, not be above them. This was her rationale for attending under these terms. She would leave all formalities at the door, so to speak.

“Remember, you promised that if it came to introductions, that you would just introduce me as Rose, but not as Lucy,” she whispered to him, her voice etched in nervousness.

“I don’t know why you want to go by an assumed name, dearest, but as you wish,” Tumnus said smiling as he fingered the blue scarf that was wound around his neck. Lucy stared at it still unable to believe that he had insisted on wearing it for the party. She did not object, because it was his wish, but it still surprised her.

“Why doesn’t anyone say anything or congratulate you?” she eventually asked as they found a small patch of grass not too far away from the fire. She unfolded the blanket she carried and shook it out before spreading it out on the ground.

For his part, Tumnus pulled his pipe from the small wooden box he carried and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not customary, everyone knows about it, but it is polite for us to acknowledge birthdays as a celebration of life. It sounds strange I know, you had everyone congratulating you on your birthday, but for me it is quite different.”

Lucy watched him as he brought the instrument to his lips and began to play few chords in what she thought was a warm-up exercise. Soon the playing became even slower as opposed to faster, and she started to stare at him, her expression entranced. He continued to play and instead of blending his music with the sounds of the other fauns, his playing was soft and level.

He played a few more notes, and smiled weakly as he watched her eyelids begin to droop somewhat, but nothing further was said, she merely stared with heavy lidded eyes transfixed on him as he played.

Several moments passed and she lowered her head, her body swaying forward and causing him to stop playing in order to catch her as she collapsed in his arms. The flute he had been playing suddenly fell and softly landed on the blanket. It worked, he thought as he stared down at her body, her breathing steady.

_I cannot do this to you,_ he thought desperately. _I spelled you once, but I cannot do it again, even if my intentions are noble and good. I love you far too much than to try and take advantage of you._ He glanced towards the fire where the other dancers were moving with wild abandon and abruptly Lucy opened her eyes.

“Why did you stop, Tumnus your music was so wonderful?” she asked softly as she remained lazily in his arms, unwilling to move, her face meshed against his chest. “I feel so relaxed.” She stared up at him, her eyes still not fully opening, but she seemed not to care. Instead, she tried to use this as an excuse to stay in his arms.

“It was a spell, my beloved,” he said meekly as he lowered his head and buried his lips in her hair. “I was trying to…I wanted to seduce you.”

“You wanted to seduce me?” Lucy asked as she made eye contact with him. Instead of regarding him filled with reproach, there was an internal hunger that began to curse through her. Nothing like this had happened to her since the night she sat blindfolded in the closet and he had kissed her. The excitement and hunger she had for him had reached indescribable heights. She wanted him, and she had hoped that he would do exactly as he had intended.

“Yes, but I realize the error of my ways,” he said smiling weakly as he reached over and patted her hand. “Now, go and dance, I must join the others.”

“You must?” she asked crestfallen.

“Go and dance, you will enjoy it, the others will show you how,” he said.

_But I want you to show me how,_ she internally screamed.

After several moments she offered an unhappy nod before getting to her feet. Instead of dancing, she watched as the nymphs and dryads wildly danced around the fire. After several minutes, she joined in, her body at first somewhat tense. After several songs, a small group of nymphs came over and began to help her with her movements. She suddenly felt a freedom that she hadn’t felt in years as her body began moving in time with it. As more time passed by, Lucy felt the freedom filling her and her dance steps began to match that of those around her.

After a few moments, she stopped dancing and started to return to the blanket as a tree nymph came over to her. “You dance well, Your Majesty.”

“You know me?” Lucy asked.

“I won’t tell anyone that it is you,” she said, her finger casually over her lips. “My name is Mareika and I was at your birthday celebration several months ago. When you came out of the closet with Tumnus, I thought your face could have lit up the sky. I could not help but recognize you tonight; you look just as lovely tonight as you did then.” The nymph’s eyes followed Lucy’s gaze and she smiled impishly. “You are in love with him, are you not?”

“I suppose it is obvious,” she said softly. “Mareika, tell me, what must I do to make him notice me? I mean; you know that I am in love with him, but I want to take our relationship to the next level. Is there something, a tradition, or words that I can convey to him so that he would know that I really want to be with him?”

The nymph smiled broadly and nodded. “You must learn the mating dance.”

“Mating dance?” Lucy asked.

“That is what you want, isn’t it? He has his birthday today, so what better gift to give than the mating dance?” Mareika said as she pulled Lucy between several groups of trees. Once they were alone, she smiled and continued speaking. “You want him to know that your intentions are real, that you are not playing some sort of game with him. You also want him to know that you respect his traditions, correct?”

“Yes, and he said that he tried to seduce me earlier,” Lucy said openly. Seconds later, she conveyed what she remembered to the nymph, who nodded with a knowing smile.

“That must have been the seduction melody. Some of those fauns are tricky; they have the magic on their side. Tumnus doesn’t seem the type that wishes to capture you through magic; he wants to capture you through your heart. The mating dance will show him that you want him as much as he obviously wants you.”

“Then teach it to me, please,” Lucy pleaded softly and the nymph began to show the movements to the dance.

Within twenty minutes, the nymph nodded in satisfaction as Lucy imitated the movements she had shown. “That’s perfect, but do you understand when you must dance this for him?” she asked.

“Not really, when?” She asked.

“Wait until the other dancers start moving towards their choices. When you see these familiar movements, then you can begin doing the same. I would advise you to keep your eyes are on Tumnus. If you look at any other faun, you will capture him, and unintentionally seduce him. Such actions could turn ugly. Also you should leave the flower head piece behind, that is a sign of innocence and that is not what you want to convey to him.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said nodding as they returned to the fire. In her mind, she continued to contemplate the movements for this special dance. Perhaps this was the reason why specifically Tumnus had not brought her to his dance before now. Perhaps what Mareika had said was the truth, maybe he internally longed for the same things she did.

She returned to the fire and began to dance with the other nymphs. After awhile, even some of the fauns had joined in. The dancing began to get wilder and wilder, couples were swinging around and around, some disappearing between the trees, while others continued to dance. Lucy continued to dance wildly, her body and mind seeming to leave her. The music seemed to be whirling through her senses and her arms flying through the air as though she was riding on a moonbeam.

Several songs later she abruptly noticed that the music suddenly slowed and she watched as the dancers started to move away from the fire, their destinations towards the group of piping fauns.

Lucy abruptly removed the wreath of flowers and tossed it casually onto the blanket. She scanned the area for Tumnus and when she found him still seated on the ground, his flute still in his hands and music emerging, she managed to make her way over to him the movements to the mating dance beginning in several places around her, the nymphs expertly moving before their choices.

With one last thought of the movements, Lucy closed her eyes as her silent prayer drifted to the heavens. _Please let me get this right,_ she thought as she opened her eyes and looking Tumnus straight in the eye, she began to dance, her movements falling into sync with the other dancers.

As Tumnus watched her, his mouth suddenly opened and he sat up even straighter. He watched her, all the while biting down on his lower lip as he had often seen her do. Seconds later, the dance had ended and he got up and looked into her eyes, his hands reaching for hers. “Where did you learn to do that?” he asked, his voice cracking.

“I asked someone to help me,” Lucy confessed softly as she glanced to one side and could see that the fire had been doused and darkness had befallen them. The other musicians were gone, as were the dancers. The two of them stood looking into one another’s eyes.

“Lucy, I’m such a bad faun,” he repeated in very much the same manner as he had done the day they had first met.

“No, Tumnus, you’re not a bad faun, you wanted to speak to my spirit through music, just as I tried to speak to yours through that dance,” she whispered. “I know what it means, and I want whatever comes. I will embrace it, just please don’t push me away.”

He stepped closer to her. “I love you,” he whispered as he wound his arms around her and buried his face against her, his lips kissing her neck. “I always have loved you, but that love changed when I saw you sitting on the floor in that closet on your birthday.”

She said not a word; instead, she raised her head and looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears as she began to kiss the top of his head, the wiry hair tickling her nose. She kissed his horns one than the other. Then she ran her lips over his ears, her tongue feeling their softness and causing him to chuckle.

He raised his head slowly as she completed the task of kissing his ears and he could still see that she was running her lips over his face, her mouth seeking his lips and after several moments, he moved his head and obliged her cravings. His hands began to roam over the form of her and still kissing her, he swept her up in his arms, her feet leaving the ground and he carried her gingerly over to the blanket and then laid her down on top of it. He could see, as he managed to sit down beside her, how the folds of her dress were resting against the ground. From his position next to her he could see that the off white colored gown was practically glowing in the darkened night. He touched the thin fabric at the neckline of her outfit, his fingers brushing against her skin.

Within seconds, the faun stretched out on the ground beside her his body feeling the length of her from one side, but he did not move for several seconds until she spoke, her voice a soft plea.

“Tumnus,” she whispered, her body feeling as though every cell was alive and filled with energy. She could literally feel herself being swallowed up in longing. She looked around until she saw that he lay nestled beside her, his hands now touching her face.

“By the lion, I love you,” he whispered hoarsely.

She turned her head and felt him kissing her in the way she had always longed to be kissed. His mouth caressing hers with desire as she relaxed and allowed her mouth to open. Beneath hers, she could feel his opening to her as well. At that instant, she took the opportunity to purge her tongue into his mouth. As she felt his tongue winding around hers and the kiss becoming deeper, she felt as though she was being pulled in by an undertow of emotion.

As she felt herself sinking into a trance of sorts, her body had started to react to his touch accordingly and all of this without his seduction song, or her mating dance. It was as though color, light, and sound had suddenly become one and Lucy could feel herself trying to get closer and closer to him. As she moved, the emotions increased with each moment, and with each breath she took.

He began to brush his hands beneath the collar of her dress his hands reaching gently under the fabric to touch her; his soft fingers making excitement literally engulf her. She opened her eyes and could see that along with kissing her, his hands were now roaming at their own will.

“Lucy,” he gasped making one last grasp at rationality. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I love you so much.”

“You’re not hurting me, you never could,” she whispered, but she managed to capture his mouth once more as she felt how his hands were wandering over her body, the fabric acting as a hindrance. Soon that was discarded and he was able to take in her body, one curve after the other. Nothing could take the place of the love that they carried for one another, and that love was being shared in this dark night in the meadow of Lantern Waste.

No longer were the questions of ‘how could they love another?’ or ‘is this even possible?’ resonating from within either of them. These questions were answered as they found themselves being swept away in passion that only comes when two soul mates have found one another.

As their slow and gentle lovemaking continued through the night, the harmonies filled both of them with absolute joy. Tumnus once more rested on one side of her, his body hunched up on an elbow as he stared down at her sleeping form.

Within minutes, she slowly shifted and opened her eyes. “How long have I been asleep?”

“An hour or so,” he said softly as he stroked her face, his fingers brushing gently across her cheek. “Are you happy?”

She smiled. “Waking up with you beside me has been the greatest dream come true that I could even imagine.”

He nodded. “It is for me as well, but there is something else that I must tell you. You asked me if you could convey your feelings without words. The answer is you did my love, last night when we mated.”

“Made love,” she quickly corrected. “It sounds much better than mating, that sounds as though there are no feelings. My feelings were there though and I felt yours as well. I only hope that it wasn’t the last time that we will share this with one another.” She cast a quick glance over to the flowered wreath that she had discarded before dancing for him and giggled when she realized that it looked as though Aslan had mauled it.

Instead, the two of them stood up and he carefully helped her to put on the now wrinkled dress. As the first lights of the new day were upon them, Lucy looked up at him. “I love you so much,” she whispered. “I never imagined that love could feel like it felt last night. Tumnus please don’t ever leave me.”

Tumnus smiled as he wound his arm around her looked deeply into her eyes. “I won’t ever leave you, my darling, I cannot.”

“You cannot?”

“No, I cannot, you see Lucy; there is something else that I must tell you, something about that dance you did for me that you probably do not yet know.”

“What?” She asked. “I was told that it was a mating dance.”

“You are quite right, it is a mating dance, but in our traditions, when a female does that dance for a male, as you did for me, it becomes an oath of matrimony. That is, it is generally a dance that is done for married couples,” he said softly.

“You mean, when I danced for you…I married you?” she asked.

He nodded. “According to tradition, you are now my bride, Lucy.”

“Mareika didn’t tell me that part,” she mused, but broke into a bright smile, her eyes filled with happiness at this turn of events. “So, I married you last night and you didn’t stop me?”

“No,” he smiled. “You said you knew what it meant, I would have been a fool to have argued otherwise. You see my darling, my father said when it comes to matters of mating and matrimony, don’t ever argue with the woman. It was a piece of advice, which I bear well.”

“Wise decision,” she giggled, but looked at him. “So, does that mean that I’m now Mrs. Tumnus?” she asked, but she regarded him through hesitant eyes.

He smiled and nodded and what happened next took him by complete surprise. She squealed with absolute delight and threw herself into his arms. “You are taking this news surprisingly well.”

“Perhaps, but now I know that there will be more times for us,” she giggled. “Besides that, now that I know the moves to that dance, I can practice it daily.” As if on cue, she began to dance.

Tumnus sighed deeply, but instead of feeling concerned about this turn of events, the faun too began to dance with her.

Behind them, the sun rose over the meadow.


	4. Later That Same Day

**Later That Same Day…**

It was a song, a melody that emanated her; it made her dance with more energy than she had ever danced with before. The night’s shadows had filled her with joy; the music making her feel emotions she never realized even existed. Even in her sleep, and through her dreams, she began to swing her arms about as though entranced by the simple movements of the dance.

Whatever the sensation was that she now carried in the recesses of her mind, these things filled her. They made it feel as though she was dancing in the clouds. After the music had stopped, she was still dancing. This movement bringing her closer and closer to the one she loved. Her arms were open wide, her body anticipating, and her heart aching to be with him and him alone.

Even after the soft and gentle melodies had faded and the early morning sunshine filtered through the trees; her body was alive with love and energy. She had felt as though walking in a dream state. Now, she lay with her head resting against the pillow, her eyes closed, and a question invading her mind: Did it really happen? Had all of these wonderful things transpired or had they been a dream that would fade the moment she opened her eyes?

Afraid, Lucy’s eyes remained closed, her mind trying desperately to recollect everything that had happened to her. Had Tumnus really played for her? Did she share a mating ritual with him, and most significantly, did they really make love? Did he hold her as she fell asleep in his arms afterwards?

These feelings, which she carried for him were still present, she loved the faun more than she loved her own life, but this was also the most powerful sensation that she had ever known in her life.

The experiences from the dance still whirled about in her mind, but she eventually opened her eyes. When she realized that she was back in his cave, relief washed over her like a cool spring shower. It looked as though she was resting in his sleeping room instead of being in her bedchamber at Cair Paravel.

In the room, she could see books lining the shelves. On the other wall, a small wardrobe was placed. In front of the doorway, a curtain was pulled to so she could sleep without being disturbed. A small frown covered her lips when she realized that Tumnus was nowhere to be seen.

She sat up in bed and immediately felt a tinge of soreness in the lower part of her body. Smiling slightly, she realized that this affirmed that she had not been dreaming. Everything that had come about had been real. It had been this, which had lifted her to the truest state of euphoria that she had ever experienced in her life.

Carefully, she swung her legs around to the side of the bed and slowly stood up. With padded footsteps, she walked carefully towards the door. Pushing the soft linen curtain aside, she stepped out into the sitting room.

She could see from the dim sunlight that shone in through the window the form of Tumnus. The faun sat in one of the two chairs, his hooves stretched out before him, his arms casually resting on his lap. She watched, as the only movement was his chest rising and falling as he inhaled and exhaled slowly. He was sleeping peacefully; his eyes closed, his hair tousled, and his beard unkempt. None of this mattered to her; however, it was still her Tumnus.

She continued to observe him lying uncomfortably there, but she found herself smiling as she stared at him, her eyes taking in every part of him. She stared for several moments at the fur that covered his legs; the wavy hair seemed to meet at a point right at his navel. Her gaze roamed up to his chest and the finally her eyes came to rest on the small smile that formed at his lips.

Looking towards the small round window at one end of the room, she could tell that it was now late afternoon, bordering on early evening. For Tumnus, that time of day had a name, teatime.

Lucy made her way slowly and quietly through the cave in the hopes of putting on a kettle and setting a nice table for tea. She smiled weakly as she tried to manage her way around his kitchen; the items she needed were luckily placed within reach. The hardest task at hand was to set a fire. She was not completely sure if she could manage, simply because there was always someone at Cair Paravel who did this for her. Annoyed by this, she decided to try on her own, as opposed to wait for him to awaken.

_I am not incapable,_ she thought to herself, a small frown covering her youthful face. _Even if I were, what sort of wife would I be if I couldn’t start a simple fire and cook him a tea?_ Determined, she worked from her memories of having seen others perform the task and smiled when she had a small fire cracking away.

Task completed, she placed a kettle of water over the fire and smiled as she watched the flames wafting up and kissing the underside of it. _If I could not even start a fire for Tumnus’ tea, then of what use would I be to him?_ She smiled weakly as she waited to hear the sounds of the water inside coming to a boil. As it did, the soft whistles emerged, which announced that the water was now hot. She removed the kettle and doused the fire. Once she had added some tealeaves to his dark brown porcelain pot, she added the hot water.

_He loves me as I am,_ she thought as she waited for the tea to stand for several minutes. Her gaze returned to the faun and a small smile graced her lips. She touched her lips for what must have been the twentieth time that afternoon.

At that moment, she glanced over to see that he lay shivering somewhat on the chair and she could almost instinctively tell that he was cold. His scarf was draped casually over the back of the chair, his arms bare. He continued to shiver and she concluded that she ought to do something to help warm him.

“Why won’t you sleep in the same room with me?” Lucy had asked him crestfallen when they had returned to the cave. His response had been matter-of-fact. He had informed her that he would not be able to sleep in the same room with her. She had fantasized when they had returned to his cozy cave about lying there on the bed; her body spooned up next to his back, his warmth lulling her off to sleep.

Yet, it was this response that had sent her crashing back down to earth.

“You know perfectly well that if we were to sleep in the same room that neither of us would sleep,” he had responded, the faun’s face taking on the tinge of a blush as he spoke these words. His unspoken affirmation had been the truth, and both of their expressions had given that fact away.

Lucy had gone to lay down in the faun’s sleeping room, alone, while he had tried to make himself comfortable on one of the chairs in the sitting room.

While she waited for the tea to finish steeping, she silently returned to the bedroom and pulled the blanket from the bed. As she came back out into the sitting room, she stood for several moments watching over him, the blanket still draped over her arm. She stared for several minutes, but eventually shook out the blanket and covered him with it.

_He’s so beautiful,_ she thought for what must have been the umpteenth time that day as she covered the faun’s sleeping form with it. She continued to stare at him, all the while taking in his physical attributes. Seconds later she watched as his body shifted in his sleep, his head bowing slightly as one of his ears flopped over. A soft snore ultimately emerged from him and she backed up, her hand resting unconsciously against her heart.

As her heartbeat slowed back down to a normal tempo, her eyes continued to roam over his sleeping form. She found herself wishing that she could just wrap her arms around him and hold him, her body pressed against his, the warmth of him enfolding her.

Blinking a few times, she refocused her attention on his hooves, which stuck out from beneath the blanket. Sunlight filtered in through the window, the gentle brightness reflecting a small prism of light throughout the cave.

Everything about him was so wonderful, and she pondered how she could possibly have overlooked him. She had overlooked the faun so many times in the past, and now he was the most endearing to her. _I’ll never take you for granted, my love,_ she thought as she carefully reached over and brushed a curly lock of hair back from his brow.

Returning to the kitchen area, she carefully poured them two cups of tea. She simply could not help but contemplate how it felt for her to be snugly wrapped in his arms. It was a feeling unlike all others; a sense of wholeness and security enveloped her as her thoughts drifted. No one, not in all of Narnia could give her the feelings that her beloved Tumnus could. There was no question remaining in her mind, everything about the faun was gentle and loving.

Lucy stared for several moments as the faun shifted uncomfortably and just as she had predicted, he fell with a thud onto the floor. As he hit the floor, a gasp escaped from him in the form of a loud groan.

Shot suddenly out of her reverie, she placed the two teacups on the table and rushed to his side. Slowly, she got down on the floor beside him and began to stroke his hand. Feeling this, he wearily opened his eyes when he felt this warmth overwhelming him. “Lucy…” he whispered as he licked his dry lips.

She nodded. “It’s me,” she offered meekly, her voice raspy, but she leaned over further so that he could see her face. “You see, my darling, you could have shared the bed with me and it would have been a lot more comfortable than the chair or the floor.”

He smiled weakly and nodded as he rubbed his temple with one hand. “Must you always be right?” He asked as he reached over and playfully tapped the tip of her nose with the index finger of his other hand.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, but instead of getting to her feet and having him stand with her, she pushed the blanket aside somewhat. He watched in surprise as she got down on the floor next to him and he could feel her arms wrapping around him.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “It is unbecoming for a lady to lie on the floor, much less a queen.”

“Oh really now, and we were only on the ground last night at the dance,” she whispered. As these words emerged, he sneezed. “You see; I only wanted to warm you.”

“Then to do so, I think we must both get off the floor,” he said with a nod. Once he managed to stand up, he extended both hands to her, and helped her to her feet. As soon as they were both standing, she looked shyly at him.

“I made some tea,” she offered.

He glanced over to the table and smiled when he saw two steaming cups, a small pitcher of milk and sugar had been placed on the table as well. “It looks wonderful,” he said appreciatively. “Come let’s sit and have our tea, then we can go and lie down in the other room.”

Lucy nodded as they seated themselves in the two chairs. “I didn’t know if I could have done this,” she offered honestly. “I was afraid that you would be disappointed that I’m not all that talented.”

“Of course you are,” he said smiling as he reached for the pitcher of milk and poured a fair amount of it into her cup. He then added some to his own and took a sip. “It’s perfect.” As they sat drinking their tea, he looked across the table at her and noticed that she had drifted into silence. “Are you alright, my dearest?” he asked after some time had passed.

“I’m alright, but I look as though Aslan has mauled me,” she whispered. As she spoke, she tried without much success to rub the wrinkles out of her dress. “It’s kind of embarrassing for me to have you see me looking this way.”

“No,” he said gently. “You are just tired. The day after a dance, I generally don’t show my face anywhere. For me to see you sitting here across from me is probably the most wonderful thing I could imagine. You look positively radiant.”

She ran her hand over her hair and tried to brush it out of her eyes. “I slept most of the day though,” she offered but reached over and touched his face, her fingers brushing against his beard and winding gently around it. This action caused the faun to chuckle, but her expression grew serious as she lowered her hand. “Tumnus?”

“Mmm,” he mumbled as he brought his cup to his lips and took a long sip before replacing it. When she didn’t speak, he did. “Lucy, what is it?”

“I was just wondering…” her voice trailed as embarrassment literally enfolded her.

“Wondering?” he asked.

“Did I really…I mean, did we really…” her unspoken words coerced a slow nod from the faun.

“You wish to know whether or not we mated, or as you call it, ‘made love’ last evening, correct?” he asked simply.

She nodded.

He smiled but wordlessly nodded, his blue-eyed gaze meeting hers. He reached across the table and stroked her cheek gently. When she still said nothing, his face lost some of its color. “You don’t regret it, do you?”

She shook her head. “No.” Her simple word emerged, but her gaze was now on her lap, instead of on him. She drank the last of her tea and replaced the cup. As she did, she suddenly felt his soft fingers touching hers and curling around her hand.

Moments passed in silence and she watched as he abruptly stood. He was still holding her hand and gently she could feel herself being pulled to her feet. “I think we must speak about what happened.”

Lucy nodded slowly all the while wondering if he regretted what had happened. Too afraid to ask him about his sudden change of behavior, she followed him. It took her several moments to realize that he was leading her back into his sleeping room.


	5. In The Sleeping Room

**In the Sleeping Room**

As they came through the arched doorway, Tumnus turned around and looked at her, his eyes filled with love. “It’s much warmer in here I think,” he said. He released her hand and watched as she crawled onto the bed, her legs now gracefully tucked beneath the folds of her wrinkled dress.

He seated himself on the edge of the bed, his own legs casually draped over the side. After several moments, she found the distance annoying and inched closer to him, her body craving the same closeness she had already shared with him in the meadow.

He sensed this and looked at her, his blue eyes showing traces of hidden insecurity. “Are you happy?”

The youngest Narnian monarch nodded. “Of course, I am, but what about you? Do you regret what happened, Tumnus?”

The faun shook his head. “No, Lucy, I don’t regret anything. It has, you see, been a longing in my soul since just before you came of age.”

“You played that song for me,” she whispered. “But you didn’t want to take advantage of me.”

“I would never wish to do anything to hurt you,” he said softly.

“I know,” she whispered. “And that dance, it felt rather like something out of a dream. The movements felt like something I did when I was a child. It’s strange because last night they felt as though they had a whole new meaning. Why did it feel as though I had been doing these movements my whole life?”

“Perhaps it is because you have,” he said nodding. “Lucy, many of that dance’s movements could be a form of self realization. It is essentially the things that are done without you fully knowing or realizing the hidden meanings behind them. When you combine certain groups of movements one after the other, then the entire meaning had the potential of changing. It’s like a language of signs and as you use them, the feelings that are affixed to them can go straight into your heart and you feel yourself changed because of them.”

She looked into his eyes. “I did feel a change last night,” she admitted.

“Tell me how,” he said.

“I don’t know if I can with words. It was strange and it felt as though you had finally started to see me as the woman I am and not that little girl I once was. That made me very happy.” As she spoke, she slowly lowered her head, her shoulders unconsciously shrugging. “Does that sound strange to you?”

Tumnus shook his head. “Not as strange as you might surmise. You see, for many years, I have watched you grow and blossom into a beautiful young woman. What sort of male would I be to not take notice of that which you have become? I knew in the depths of my being that I cannot change what I am. Lucy, I am a faun, and you are a Daughter of Eve. We are different from one another, but last night we were one.”

“I know,” she whispered as she reached for his hand. “I never wanted to think about how different we are; I just wanted to think about the similarities we shared.” She pulled his hand to her lips and began to gently kiss it. “I love you, Tumnus and last night I professed to be your bride. I could never regret having made such a vow to you. It is what I wish for more than anything in all of Narnia. Do you not wish for the same thing?” She bit down on her lip as she waited for his answer.

“I wish for nothing more than that,” he admitted softly. “I have loved you for many a season, Lucy Pevensie. Yet I fear that I cannot take you as my bride simply because you did not know the history of the dance or the meaning behind it before now. You do not know what all it meant.”

“I don’t care about that you can share it with me. I want to be your bride it would honor me more than anything I could ever receive here.” Lucy could feel the tears catching in her eyes. “I want to be with you forever and I don’t care what anyone else says. You are my choice, let me be yours.”

The faun took a deep breath. “If that is to be then I must explain the dance to you. Once you understand it, then you can decide if that is what you truly wish.”

She simply nodded.

“When you did that dance for me, I discovered that you possess a magic far superior and deeper than anything that I have ever known,” he began to speak. “You have magic inside of you and I believe that you are vastly unaware of it. It is a far deeper magic than anything I have ever known.”

“Do you mean the deep magic like Aslan implied when he told Susan and me about the sacrifice at the Stone Table?” Lucy asked; her voice filled with confusion.

“It is similar yes, when you consider that Narnia is completely empowered by many vast sources of magic,” he said. “One aspect of magic is about the act of sacrifice, but another is about the depths of love.”

“Then show me,” she pleaded softly.

He nodded and stood up, his body now directly in front of her. For a moment, instead of thinking of the dance, she had her thoughts elsewhere. It suddenly took all the concentration inside of her to pay attention to his movements and not to him.

As soon as they were standing in front of one another, he began to speak, his words literally reaching out and embracing her. “Some of the people call the dance, the ‘mating dance’, but the meaning behind it is a deeper love. It is one of the deepest and most profound emotions that exist in all of Narnia. When you start at the beginning, you raise your hands as though you are reaching out to touch the sky.” He began to move his arms up over his head and continued to explain the movements. “Your palms reach out to the heavens.”

“Why?” Lucy asked.

“To take in the wonder of that moment which you are living in,” he explained. “The sky is filled with magic and these stars can pour wisdom and love into your heart and leave you overflowing with emotion. You take the love that comes from them and share it with another. That one becomes your soul’s mate. These movements ultimately represent how you have become one with them. You bring your hands down to your chest, just over your heart, thus symbolizing that you take that love that is freely offered into your life.”

The next movement involved Tumnus reaching out to Lucy, their fingertips lightly touching. “I share with you my heart, my love, and my life. I offer you all that I have, all that I am through the love that I receive from and give back to you.” He stepped closer, entwined his fingers with hers. He began to sway with her, two steps to the left and two steps to the right. Lucy could feel herself continuing to move, long after he had stopped this motion and continued to speak. “We are one, in life, always and forever.” As he spoke these words, he raised their intertwined hands to the sky, their hands opening up in sync with one another and the images that filled her were like a flower blossoming from a seedling. “We are one; body, mind and spirit…”

Their hands remained together as their arms were lowered and once more, they were holding one another’s hands at chest level. The dance began again, the movements continuing for several minutes.

As their movements began to slow, he reached out and gently cupped her face with both of his hands. “The act of mating, or making love, is the final step of unity that comes through the love that is expressed wordlessly through the dance. My great, great grandfather called it the ‘dance of oneness’, but over time, and through the generations, the name evolved to be loosely called the ‘mating dance’. It is a very meaningful dance, Lucy. The meanings behind these movements are the grandest expression of love that exists in all of Narnia.”

“That’s so beautiful,” she said as tears freely began to stream down her face. She began to wipe them away with the back of her hand. “Tumnus, when I said, ‘heart and soul’, you truly understood what I meant, didn’t you?” She wound her arms around him and pressed her lips to his.

Once the kiss had ended, he nodded. “Yes,” he whispered, his hands still holding tightly to hers. “I did understand, but I was afraid to even begin to hope. You see, my love, I would never wish to push you in a direction you would not be willing to step into. I became aware of your wishes when you began to dance for me last night. Somehow, the words you had spoken at Cair Paravel and the actions at the dance made everything clear to me.”

“But you played that song for me, and then abruptly stopped, why?” she asked.

“I was giving into some urges that I was afraid of allowing myself to experience,” he admitted, as a slight blush tinged his cheeks. “I sent you away because I wanted to regain control of my wayward emotions. You had no idea what you were doing to me as you stood before me last night. I knew you were capable of handling whatever would happen, but deep inside, I still wanted to protect you, even if that meant protecting you from me.”

“Protecting me from you?” she asked softly, her words laced with disbelief.

“Yes, from what I could very easily have done. You see, I have many years of wild dances behind me,” he admitted, his face flushing.

“So last night wasn’t the first time something like this has happened to you?” She asked; disappointment etched in her voice.

“I have always enjoyed these dances and I can assure you that I have not shared the deep meaning of this dance with another.” He touched her face gently. “Perhaps I am too humble to allow myself to be swept away by emotion. I can assure you that everything that happened between us last night was a first for me, and quite overwhelming.”

She raised her head, a small smile tugging at her lips, but her next question emerged. “Tumnus, what is going to happen now?”

“Things will change between us,” he said as he touched her face gently. “But it will be a change that I think shall be welcomed by both of us.”

Lucy threw herself into his arms. “I do love you, Tumnus.”

“As I do you,” he said smiling as he wound his arms around her.

“And to think that this all started because my brothers and sister wanted to put me in a closet on my birthday.” She buried her face against him and felt his hands stroking the back of her head. “Perhaps I owe them a debt of gratitude.”

Tumnus nodded as he suddenly picked her up in his arms and seated himself on the edge of the bed with her in his lap.

After several moments of silence, she raised her head and her eyes met his. “Are you happy?” She asked him softly, her green eyes shining.

With both hands, he gently cupped her face, his fingertips stroking her cheeks. “I am so very happy and quite grateful, dearest Lucy. To me being here with you has been the greatest gift that I could have even wished or hoped for,” he whispered hoarsely as he kissed her waiting lips.

She would her arms around him and leaned into the kiss. As it ended, she opened her eyes and stared into his loving gaze. “I do,” was all she said, her eyes shining brightly.

He responded to these words with another kiss…


End file.
